Transformers: The Last Knight – Stanley Tucci Reprising Role

Production on Transformers: The Last Knight has been underway for some time now, and director Michael Bay hasn’t been shy about bringing fans along while he documents his fifth go-round behind the camera. So far, the film has shared plenty across social media, from filming locations in Cuba to some massive on-set explosions to Sqweeks, the newest member of the extended Transformers family. The production has shared so much that it’s easy to overlook the fact that there’s still quite a bit the film hasn’t been quite so forthcoming with in terms of details.

A recent casting notice revealed that Once Upon a Timeactor Liam Garrigan has joined the cast of human characters as none other than King Arthur, essentially confirming a long-standing rumor that the film’s story line somehow winds its way through the Arthurian legend. Some slightly fuzzy set photos that showed both sets and costumes from the time period reinforced that rumor even earlier. With all that information pouring in, essentially confirming that the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons will now crossover into historical legend territory, there’s still the matter of the present-day human cast, like returning players Mark Wahlberg, Josh Duhamel, and Tyrese Gibson, as well newcomers Anthony Hopkins and Laura Haddock (Guardians of the Galaxy).

As reported by Variety, it seems Stanley Tucci will also return for The Last Knight, reprising his role as tech-guru Joshua Joyce. Tucci confirmed his appearance in the film while accepting a career tribute in Deauville, France, but didn’t go much into specifics with regard to what his character will be doing and how he’ll fit into the narrative, much less what role if any he’ll play as the story delves into the Arthurian legend. Given his character’s arc in Age of Extinction, it will be interesting to see where Joyce heads next, as he and Cade Yaeger (Wahlberg) inevitably find themselves embroiled in more Cybertronian affairs. With any luck, he’ll be given the chance to name more stuff, like he did with “transformium.”

While details on Tucci’s role are scarce, his return to the Transformers franchise demonstrates the actor’s ability to shift from big-budget blockbusters to smaller, more intimate roles in both film and television. At this point, Transformers stands as one of the biggest franchises Tucci has appeared in, but he might be more widely known for the enormous smile and garish hairstyling of his character Caesar Flickerman in The Hunger Games films. But when he’s not flashing his radioactively white teeth, encouraging underprivileged teens to fight to the death, or coming up with nonsensical words that almost make you forget “unobtanium” was a thing, Tucci is turning in memorable performances on TV. Just last year he starred in the criminally underseen Fortitude, as DCI Morton, and he’ll be back next year in Ryan Murphy’s sure-to-be-salacious Feud opposite Susan Sarandon, Jessica Lange, Judy Davis, and Sarah Paulson on FX.

With all that he has going on, it’s great to see that Tucci has time to return to Transformers, if for nothing else than to give the franchise a memorable human character.

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Transformers: The Last Knight opens in U.S. theaters on June 23, 2017, followed by the Bumblebee spin-off on June 8, 2018, and Transformers 6 on June 28, 2019.